Flight: VN3857 Ho Chi Minh City - Phnom Penh 08.40 - 09.25

Meet & greet: Upon arrival at Phnom Penh airport, you will be welcomed to Cambodia by your private English-speaking guide, and then transferred to your hotel.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Penh House Hotel (Deluxe Room)

Half day tour of Phnom Penh: Start your tour of Cambodia's capital at the stunning Royal Palace complex, home to the Cambodian royal family and a symbol of the nation. Here, you will see beautiful gardens landscaped with tropical plants and the Throne Hall, where the royal receptions are held and the Cambodian king's coronation took place. Continue to the Silver Pagoda, named after the 5,000 silver tiles covering the floor, each weighing 1kg. Inside are some of the country's most cherished treasures, including a life-size gold Buddha studded with 9,584 diamonds, the largest weighing 25 carats. Leave the Royal Palace and continue to the nearby National Museum, home to the world's finest collection of sculpture from the Angkor period. The exquisite building was completed between 1917 and 1920 and features a lush courtyard garden surrounded by collections from the pre-Angkor, Angkor and post-Angkor periods.

You will then have the option to learn of the Khmer Rouge's horrific crimes at Tuol Sleng, a former high school that the Khmer Rouge turned into a centre for interrogation, torture and death. 17,000 people passed through the gates of this prison and only seven lived to tell the tale. The Khmer Rouge were meticulous in their record keeping, photographing all the prisoners and many of these haunting black and white images are on display in the cells. Tuol Sleng is a profoundly moving experience and not everyone will want to visit. However, it is key to understanding the hell into which Cambodia descended and how far it has come in the years since.

Finish your tour at the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek. An old Chinese cemetery, Choeung Ek was turned into an extermination camp for political prisoners. The remains of 8,985 people were exhumed from mass graves and are kept in a memorial stupa here. Despite the horrors of the past, it is a peaceful place to go and a tranquil spot to reflect on the tragic events that engulfed Cambodia and its people.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Penh House Hotel (Deluxe Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Private transfer: After breakfast this morning, your guide and driver will transfer you to the airport.

Flight: VN9851 Phnom Penh - Siem Reap 09.45 - 10.45

Afternoon tour of Lake Tonle Sap: After checking in to your hotel, travel southeast to one of the largest and least-visited villages on the Tonle Sap Lake, Kompong Khleang, about 55km from Siem Reap. It has a population of about 10,000 people, all of whom make a living from the fishing industry. Explore the canals (wet season) or streets (dry season) of this incredible town. In the wet season, the houses appear to be floating, as water laps at the verandas, but in the dry season towering stilts are revealed, the houses almost like wooden skyscrapers. You will visit one of the pagodas here, built on the site of an ancient temple, and see the wall paintings, and stop off to visit a house in the village to learn a little more about local life. Cruise into the open water of the great lake to see a small floating village and learn some more about this incredible natural flood barrier. Return to your hotel in Siem Reap, as the sun is setting this afternoon.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Montra Nivesha (Deluxe Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Full day tour of Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom & Ta Prohm: Probably the best time to visit Angkor Wat, the largest and most famous of the Angkor temples, is early in the morning, when the light is good and it is relatively quiet. Angkor Wat is visually, architecturally and artistically breathtaking. It is a massive three-tiered pyramid crowned by five beehive-like towers rising 65 metres from ground level. At the apex of Khmer political and military dominance in the region, Suryavarman II constructed Angkor Wat in the form of a massive 'temple-mountain' dedicated to the Hindu god, Vishnu. Angkor Wat is surrounded by a moat and an exterior wall and the walls of the temple are covered inside and out with bas-reliefs and carvings. Nearly 2,000 distinctively rendered apsara carvings adorn the walls throughout the temple and represent some of the finest examples of apsara carvings in Angkorian era art.

Angkor Thom (Big Angkor) is a walled and moated royal city and was the last capital of the Angkorian Empire. After Jayavarman VII recaptured the badly damaged Angkorian capital from the Cham invaders in 1181, he began a massive building campaign across the empire, constructing Angkor Thom as his new capital city. He began with existing structures such as Baphuon and Phimeanakas and built a grand enclosed city around them, adding the outer wall and some of Angkor's greatest temples, including his state-temple, Bayon, set at the centre of the city. There are five entrances (gates) to the city, one for each cardinal point, and the victory gate leading to the Royal Palace area. Each gate, as well as much of Jayavarman VII's architecture, is crowned with four giant faces. The giant stone faces of Bayon have become one of the most recognizable images connected to classic Khmer art and architecture. There are 37 standing towers, most sporting four carved faces oriented toward the cardinal points.

End the day at Ta Prohm, a hugely atmospheric due to the fact that has been left in the same state that many of the temples were first ‘discovered' by French explorer Henri Mouhot in 1860. The tentacle-like tree roots here appear to be slowly strangling the surviving stones, a reminder that while empires rise and fall, the riotous power of nature marches on oblivious to the dramas of human history.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Montra Nivesha (Deluxe Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Full day tour of Kbal Spean & Banteay Srei: This morning, journey north to the Kbal Spean. The original ‘River of a Thousand Lingas’, Kbal Spean is an intricately carved riverbed deep in the foothills of the Cambodian jungle. The river flows down to the Tonlé Sap Lake, and in ancient times its' holy waters breathed life into the rice fields of the empire via the most complex irrigation system the world had ever seen. The Khmers venerated its' limestone bed with a riot of carvings, including the delicate deities Vishnu and Shiva with their consorts. Lingams are phallic representations sacred to Hindus as fertility symbols and hundreds, perhaps thousands, are carved into the bedrock here. The carvings were only rediscovered in 1969 when French researcher Jean Boulbet was shown the river by a local hermit. A trip to Kbal Spean is one of the easiest ways to experience a short jungle trek in the Angkor area, as it is a steady but scenic climb to reach the river carvings. The path winds its' way through knotted vines and big boulder formations and occasionally offers big views over the surrounding jungle. And there is a small waterfall below the carved riverbed, perfect for cooling off after the hot climb.

Continue to Banteay Srei, Angkor’s ultimate art gallery. This petite pink temple is the jewel in the crown of Angkor-era sculpture. The elaborate carvings here are the finest found in Cambodia and the name translates as ‘Fortress of the Women’, thanks to the intricate detail here, considered too fine for the hands of a man. Originally believed to date from the latter part of the Angkor period, inscriptions at the site suggest it was built by a Brahman in 967. However, some architectural historians have suggested that the inscriptions may date from an earlier structure on this site and the temple is in fact later, marking a high-water mark in Khmer sculpture. Finish your tour at the ‘Jungle Temple’ - Ta Prohm. This fairly large temple is hugely atmospheric due to the fact that it has been left untouched rather than being restored. The jungle has reclaimed the temple, with huge tree trunks and vines snaking around the centuries-old stone work. Here, you can get a feeling of how the first European explorers would have found the ruins.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Montra Nivesha (Deluxe Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Day at leisure in Siem Reap: Today is free to relax at your hotel and explore Siem Reap, or arrange an excursion through your guide.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Montra Nivesha (Deluxe Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Private transfer: This morning, your guide and driver will transfer you to the airport for your flight to Luang Prabang in Laos.

Flight: VN868 Siem Reap - Luang Prabang 12.50 - 14.30

Meet & Greet: Upon arrival at Luang Prabang airport, you will be welcomed to Laos by your guide and transferred you to your hotel.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Villa Maydou (Poolview Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Early morning Tak Bat ritual: Rise early this morning (around 5.30am), to witness and partake in the daily morning ritual of 'Tak Bat', or giving alms to the monks. This is a unique ritual still followed by the locals in Luang Prabang. Silent processions of monks pass through the streets accepting gifts of food from the locals. Later you can also visit the local fresh market if you wish, to see how the locals shop.

Half day walking tour of Luang Prabang: Your half day tour starts with a visit to the quaint Royal Palace Museum, which gives a good overview of the local history and features a guided audio tour.  Afterwards, begin your walking tour, taking in some of Luang Prabangs hidden secrets, including a stroll down the quiet back lanes.  Along the way, stop at Wat Chomkhong, which is known for its decorative carvings.  This area contains a mix of beautiful old French Colonial buildings, and traditional old Lao houses, which you will have time to admire, along with a stop at the small but charming Wat Phapai. Your final visit of the day is the magnificent Wat Xiengthong, with its roof sweeping low to the ground, representing the classical Luang Prabang style.

An evening with the locals: This evening, experience some local Luang Prabang nightlife and challenge your guide to a game of ‘Petanque’ or boules, a very popular sport in Laos. Your guide will also take you for a local style BBQ dinner, and unlimited beer or soft drinks are included all evening. This is a unique opportunity to get to know the locals in their own environment.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Villa Maydou (Poolview Room)

Meals: Breakfast & Dinner

Half day boat cruise to the Pak Ou Caves: After breakfast this morning, you will be taken to the local pier to board a private traditional boat for the journey upstream on the Mekong River to visit the sacred Pak Ou Caves. After around an hour cruising up the Mekong, disembark your boat at  the village of Ban Muangkeo, where you can get a glimpse of daily life in rural Laos. From here, set off on foot for the revered religious site of Pak Ou, two caves set in a limestone cliff facing the Mekong River crammed with thousands Buddha statues of various shapes and sizes.  After your visit to the caves, return to Luang Prabang by boat, stopping off at Ban Nongxai artisans village en route.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Villa Maydou (Poolview Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Day at leisure in Luang Prabang: You have a full day at leisure today to explore the atmospheric ancient capital independently. Local excursions to the Kuangsi Falls or the Botanical Gardens can be arranged locally or through your guide. Staying within the city, there are a number of excellent cooking classes, plus great shopping opportunities in local craft centres.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Villa Maydou (Poolview Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Train journey to Vientiane: Board Train C81 from Luang Prabang to Vientiane departing 13:53 arriving 15:45.

Bypass officialities (which is sometimes a bit inefficient), and make yourself comfortable on the new train service, which is the first in Laos, having only started operations in December 2021.

Views from the train start with village-life and mountain views, whilst the trainline cuts straight through spectacular mountain sceneries, crossing numerous bridges and travelling through tunnels. You then cross the lush and green flatlands of Vientiane province, before entering the capital's train station.

Private transfer: Upon arrival in the capital of Laos, you will be met by your local guide and transferred to your hotel.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Beau Rivage (Superior Mekong View Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Half day tour of Vientiane: Your tour of Laos' capital city starts with a visit to the enchanting Si Muang Temple. Continue to the Siamese style Wat Si Saket and the That Luang Stupa, the bright golden monument, which represents a lotus bud, and is used as a symbol of the Lao nation, and Patuxay Monument, Vientiane’s very own Arc de Triumph. The tour ends with a visit to the excellent COPE exhibition centre, highlighting a much overlooked aspect of Laos and a major problem many of the local people face on a day to day basis in the form of unexploded ordnance as a result of heavy bombing campaigns during the Vietnam War era.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Beau Rivage (Superior Mekong View Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Time at leisure: You have time to explore the Laotian capital independently. As the smallest capital in the world, the centre is small and easily traversed on foot. There are a number of excellent cafes and boutiques within walking distance of your hotel.

Private transfer: After a day at leisure to explore more of Vientiane, your guide and driver will transfer you to the airport in time for your return flight home.

Flight: VN920 Vientiane - Hanoi 20.10 - 21.15

Meals: Breakfast